Game Thread: Seahawks @ Rams

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I certainly am thankful to be back home in Seattle with another cross-country trip with my young boys behind me. The only thing more stressful than a Seahawks lead in the 4th quarter is anticipating being trapped in a cramped plane for 6 hours with a 3 and 6 year-old.

There aren’t many critical games against 2-8 teams, but this one is certainly important on a number of levels.

– This is the third game of our new offensive philosophy. Teams will have enough film to game plan for it at this point. As bad as the Rams have been this year, their defense has been playing well in spurts. This is also the first road game that we’ve had since the switch.

– Road wins have been hard to come by. We are playing 4 of 6 on the road to close the season, and losing to a 2-8 team would not be a great way to start.

– Division records count. We are in a tight race with the Cards, and we can’t afford to lose any division games. A win against the Rams and the Cards (at home) would lead to a couple critical tie-breakers.

– This is a Rams team with some momentum playing at home. It’s not the same team we played a few weeks ago.

I’m going to be watching for a pass rush. I think that will be a key to the game. If we make it hard on the Rams to pass the ball, I think we can win even with Seneca at the helm. If we don’t hit Bulger a ton, this could be a very frustrating day.

Early story line: Last week was a win where all parts of the team contributed. With no offense, a special teams fumble and missed FG, and two TDs against, the whole team is contributing to an ugly loss at this point.

Seriously though, a botched snap and a different ending in Cleveland and there 9-2 and talking about HFA.

In all the years that I have watched the Hawks….Patera, Knox, Flores, Erickson, and Holmgren, I have never witnessed a team like this one over a two year period, from an entertainment perspective. This game will be another NFL replay in all likelihood. They simply thrive on being on the edge.

BTW, nice work on the blog. I don’t post much during the week, but I make it point to read. Im sure others do to.